2.
4 Impact Assessment on Workers
Amidst the auto industry's transition from Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles to
Electric Vehicles (EVs), it's crucial to assess the impact on workers and their livelihoods to
ensure an equitable and just transition. This section of the report delves into the workforce's
reliance on the Indian automobile sector, utilizing various databases and statistical sources to
gauge employment levels and their national economic significance. Additionally, it examines
job roles within the auto ecosystem to identify evolving skill demands prompted by the shift
to EVs, encompassing an impact assessment of workers across all job roles, particularly in
manufacturing. This evaluation includes analyzing roles potentially rendered obsolete by EV
technology, those requiring reskilling or upskilling, emerging opportunities in the EV sector,
and roles expected to persist across both ICE and EV domains. Also,
A. Workforce Dependence
The Automobile sector contributes 6.5% of the country’s GDP 1 third largest employer in
manufacturing sector accounting for 9.58% of employment behind food products (11.05%)
and textiles (9.64%)2.
Table: Auto Sector Employment
Employment Employment Linkage Workers
Direct Employment (directly 4.2 million
involved in the
manufacturing of vehicle and
its components, vehicles
sales and service. Example:
OEM, ACM, Sales,
Dealership)
Indirect Employment Upstream linkage: providing 26.5 million
(Includes Upstream and raw material and services to
Downstream linkages) vehicle and component
manufacturers. Example:
steel, aluminium etc.
Downstream linkage :
involved in post-production
and sales of vehicles.
Example: Fuel,
Transportation, warehousing
etc.
Total Workers 30.7 million
Source: Ministry of Heavy Industries3
According to recent Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) data 4, the automobile sector employs
36% of the workers are permanently employed and 64% are contractually employed 5. This
data largely includes large OEMs and auto component manufacturers (Majorly large,
1
SIAMANNUALREPORT2022-23.pdf
2
https://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/publication_reports/ASI%20Volume%20I%202021-
22%20%20Final.pdf
3
https://heavyindustries.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-09/heavy-annual-reports_eng-hindi-web.pdf
4
iFOREST has attempted to have a closer look at the actual number strictly for registered organized
manufacturing units through ASI data 2021-22 Unit level of 17 NIC codes relevant for auto codes was extracted
from 2021-22 ASI database.
1
medium, and small enterprises) but a certain section of unorganized sector and many micro
firms would have been excluded.
According to survey conducted in the three clusters mentioned in previous chapter 1,184
worker profiles were collected. Around 25% of total workers across three clusters were
working on informal employment6. Overall majority of workers in auto sector work on
formal employment in ACMs and OEMs.
40% of workers in auto sector are ITI/Diploma certified across different enterprises sizes.
The workforce appears to be largely composed of individuals with at least secondary or
higher secondary education. More than 95% of total sample were at least secondary educated,
highlighting the educational levels of auto sector compared to many other sectors in the
economy is relatively better as majority of workers have completed at least basic education.
B. Types of Jobs in Auto Sector
To gain a holistic view and assessment of different job roles in automobile ecosystem a list
was compiled with inputs from multiple stakeholders across OEMs and ACMs and auto
servicing industry. List constituted job roles at various sub-assembly/process/stage for ICE
value chain and currently developing EV value chain and cross comparison among the same
job roles was done. Auto Ecosystem was divided into six categories namely: Dealership, EV
Charging Stations/Fuel Pumps, Manufacturing, R&D, Service, Supply chain and Logistics.
Table : Category wise job roles of auto ecosystem
Categories of Auto Ecosystem Number of Job
Roles
Dealership 59 (10.5%)
EV Charging Stations/Fuel Pumps 21 (3.7%)
Manufacturing 304(53.9%)
R&D 75(13.3%)
Service/Repair 90(15.9%)
Supply chain and Logistics 15(2.6%)
Total 564 (100%)
Source: iForest Analysis
More than 50% job roles exist in manufacturing sector and that is where majority of workers
are directly employed in auto industry.
Manufacturing sector job roles include job roles existing in both OEMs and ACMs. These job
roles list do not signify that all these job roles exist in each OEM and ACM as could be seen
in field survey that there is lot of overlapping of job role where one individual is doing work
of two to three job roles. This exhaustive list of job roles is created using National
Qualification register7, National Classification of Occupations (NCO) codes mapped with 17
NIC codes identified for auto sector8 and other job roles identified during field visits in three
5
6
Informal Profiles of workers was available for two cluster Hosur and Pune and the data showed around 28% of
workers are informally employed. Through interactions with stakeholders in Manesar Cluster informality was
less compared to other two clusters as Manesar has majorly Large sized enterprises so in totality informality was
around 2t5% across three clusters.
7
NCVET, Government of India. (2024) National Qualification Register. https://www.nqr.gov.in/qualifications-
search/4
2
clusters in OEMs and ACMs. Further sub assembly wise distribution of these 304
manufacturing job roles are as follows:
Table : Job roles sub-assembly wise for manufacturing sector
Job Roles ICE EV
Battery 37
BODY & CHASSIS 89 88
Design 9 11
Drive line 11 11
Electronics and control systems 5 8
EV Motor 7
Engine 31
Fuel System and Exhaust 9
General Purpose Components and Assembly Line Job 33 32
Roles
Machining Job Roles 34 34
Plant And Equipment Maintenance 10 11
Transmission 12 12
Total 243 251
Source: iForest Analysis
Total number of Job roles according to above analysis would increase in case of EV rather
than conventional presumption that it would decrease. With EV a lot more automation may
come in and as number of workers (operators and assemblers) working in Engine and Fuel
and Exhaust system would be higher than EV battery and EV motor, but the total number of
job roles would be almost equal or may be more in case of EV.
Table : Total number of Job Roles in auto ecosystem and Manufacturing sector according to
NSQF levels
Total number of Job Roles
NSQF Levels Example of Auto Non- Manufacturing Auto
Job Role Manufacturing Ecosystem
Level 2 Press Shop 13 (2.2%) 20 (6.6%) 33 (2.6%)
Assistant/ Helper,
Automotive
washer
Level 3 Mechanical 21 (5.3%) 19 (6.2%) 40 (4.8%)
Assembles
Level 3.5 Tool room 9 (2.7%) 39 (12.8%) 48 (6.8%)
operator, die
maker
Level 4 Press operator, 77 (26.2%) 82 (26.9%) 159
Technicians (25.7%)
Level 4.5 Production 25 (9.5%) 13 (4.3%) 38 (6.9%)
Incharge
8
MSDE, Government of India. (2016). Report of the committee for rationalization & optimization of the
functioning of the sector skill councils. Volume 1. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
https://cse.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/
Sharada_Prasad_Report_Vol3_NIC_NCO.pdf
3
Level 5 Quality Control 58 (24.6%) 108 (35.5%) 166
Engineer (33.6%)
Level 5.5 Sales Manager 5 (2.3%) 5 (1.6%) 10 (2.22%)
Level 6 Designer, chip 46 (23.4%) 18 (5.9%) 64
programmer (15.53%)
Level 7 Regional 6 (3.6%) 0 6 (1.7%)
Manager
Total 260 (100%) 304 (100%) 564
(100%)
Source: iForest analysis
Analysis of all job roles was also done according to NSQF levels and the auto sector
workforce in both auto ecosystem and Manufacturing sector falls between NSQF level 4 and
5. These two NSQF levels generally represent 12th pass, Graduates, Polytechnic and ITI
graduates which is the majority of education level of all workforces in manufacturing sector.
Job Roles in these categories are around operators, technicians and specialists in various
assembly lines. Around 66% of workforce is between these two categories. This suggests that
a significant portion of employment in these sectors requires intermediate level skills and
qualifications. NSQF level 2 and 3 have considerably low number of job roles. Similarly, at
NSQF level 7, which represents the highest skill level in auto sector, there are minimal job
roles, particularly in the manufacturing sector, implying that very few positions require the
highest level of skills and qualifications. Overall, this data highlights the importance of skill
development and training programs tailored to different NSQF levels to meet the diverse
workforce needs of the auto industry.
C. Impact Assessment
job roles were categorized according to their status in future according to transition of auto
sector from ICE to EV. This section tries to provide answer to question which job roles would
go, which would require reskilling, which would be new opportunities in sector and which
job roles would experience no change due to this transition.
Categories of Job Roles
o Jobs that may go obsolete: This encompasses job roles of workers in assembly lines
majorly of engine assembly, fuel tank and exhaust. This does not mean that all
workers of these assembly lines may lose their job as many job roles can be reskilled.
Also, other assembly line workers would also be affected directly or indirectly.
o Job Roles that may require reskilling: This encompasses workforce specific job
roles proficient in areas like vehicle system engineering, software-related roles,
computer science, and machine learning, as well as service-oriented positions such as
brake systems, maintenance, and the manufacturing of vehicle bodies and
components.
o New Job Opportunities due to EV auto sector transition: This involves job roles
proficient in various areas, such as comprehensive battery management, the
establishment and operation of charging infrastructure and stations, manufacturing
battery components, and expertise in digital technology, as well as servicing
electronic and electrical components. With the increasing presence of electric vehicles
4
(EVs) in the Indian market, there will also be a challenge in implementing sustainable
practices for the end-of-life disposal and recycling of batteries.9
o No Change in Job Roles: This category involves overlapping job roles between ICE
and EV automobiles. These are job roles which would have no effect of the transition
of auto sector towards EV and can continue to perform as they have performed in
traditional ICE value chain set up.
Figure 1: Job Role Status of Auto Ecosystem due to EV transition
Job Role Status of Auto Ecosystem due to EV transition
Job role may get Obsolete 66
Refilled through Reskilling 82
New Job Oppurtunity 93
No change in job role 323
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Source: iForest Analysis
Table 8: Mapping of job roles category wise in ICE and EV in manufacturing sector
Job Role Status Manufacturing Non Auto Ecosystem
manufacturing
ICE EV ICE EV ICE EV
Job role may get 52 0 14 0 66 0
Obsolete
Refilled through 31 31 51 51 82 82
Reskilling
New Job 0 60 32 0 92
Opportunity
No change in job 160 160 163 163 323 323
role
Total 243 251 228 246 471 497
Source: iForest Analysis
27% of job roles in manufacturing sector would be affected by auto sector transition from
ICE to EV where 17% of job roles would get obsolete and 10% would require major
reskilling. Few jobs like Carburettor technicians, clutch system specialists, Exhaust system
inspectors would go obsolete job roles like Transmission in charge, Drive line supervisors,
9
KPMG and ASDC. (2022). Knowledge Paper on Alternative Fuel and Its Impact on the Skill Required, KPMG
Assurance and Consulting Services LLP. https://www.asdc.org.in/files/kpmg-whitepaper.pdf
5
Axle shaft operators would be refilled through reskilling. Similarly in non-manufacturing
sector as well 25% of job roles would be affected but here only 5% would go obsolete and
20% would be refilled through reskilling. Almost similar number of job role in manufacturing
and non-manufacturing would witness no change in job role.
Total number of job roles in non-manufacturing would also increase under EV rather than
decrease. For total 66 job roles in Manufacturing and non-manufacturing that may go
obsolete strategy would be needed to be devised for training workers working in these job
roles to be trained in 91 new job opportunities that would be created with transition towards
EV.
Out of total 82 job roles in Manufacturing and non-manufacturing that may require reskilling,
government already have skilling courses for 38 of those job roles which would just require
some amendments in course curriculums to make the course compatible with EV skills.
Total number of workers that may get impacted with ICE to EV transition in India
Table 10: OEM level Assembly Line wise Total number of workers at an OEM Plant
ICE: EV10
Production capacity 180 cars per shift
Production Capacity: 200 battery packs
per shift
11
Engine Assembly: 250 workers Battery: 60 workers
Exhaust and Fuel System: 100 workers EV Motor: 15 workers
Transmission and Axle: 225 workers Transmission and Axle: 175 workers
Paint Shop: 500-550 workers Paint Shop: 500 workers
Body shop: 500-550 workers Body shop: 500 workers
Vehicle Assembly line: 400-450 Vehicle Assembly line: 350 workers
workers
Total Workers: approx. 2000 workers Total Workers: approximately 1600
workers
For making almost similar number of ICE and EV in a shift an EV OEM would require
around 400 less number of workers and assuming two shifts in a day meaning 800 workers
which may result in impact on jobs both at executive and non-executive jobs. These are
number at OEMs and for ACMs job decreasing at least 1:4 ratio because components
required to compile a engine are drastically more where in case of battery and EV motor is
assembly and ACMs are not producing much components of battery and Motor except
general purpose components, jogs, fixtures and brackets. Worker impact at ACM level would
be very high for enterprises dealing with engine and fuel and exhaust system components and
reskilling or relocation would be required of these workers to other assembly lines or non-
auto sectors.
10
Except battery packs other are own calculations till we receive reply from Nasik plant
11
Total Engines made in a year: 3 cylinder: 110k and 2 Cylinder 65k, which means monthly 23000 and daily
(assuming 25 working days: 920 engines)
Total Workforce in engine assembly line (non-executive): 3 cylinder 340, 2 cylinder 120
Executive: 25-30
Total Workers to produce 920 engines a day: approximately 500 workers
6
Assuming out of 4.2 million 70% of workers work in manufacturing of automobiles i.e. 2.94
million workers. Out of these approximately 25% 12 of these workers would work in Engine,
Exhaust and Fuel System Assembly line at ACMs and OEMs which would tend to get
obsolete with transition towards EV. Also around 12% of workers would require reskilling
(Workers of transmission and driveline assembly line). So approximately in totality around 1
million workers (37% of 2.94 million workers) jobs in manufacturing sector would be
impacted due to transition from ICE to EV. This number would include both executive and
non-executive level job roles as transition towards EV would render the whole assembly line
and component line obsolete.
Also another section which is completely skipped from formal statistics is informal repair
shops workers whose job roles may get completely obsolete with this transition who
traditionally don’t have formal degrees and would be most vulnerable to this transition.
(These are estimations)
D. Skilling and Reskilling Initiatives
Current skill development programmes and schemes in auto sector focus on services i.e.
mechanic job roles and few manufacturing sector job roles. Skill development training in auto
sector is provided formally through three major sources:
1. Long-term Training: Through training institutes like ITIs, IITs, NITs and other
government and private engineering universities and colleges teaching courses related
to job roles of auto sector.
2. Short-term Training: Through NSDC funded centres and schemes like Pradhan Mantri
Kaushal Vikas Yojna (PMKVY) and National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme
3. Enterprise-based Training: Through ACMs and OEMs directly.
Detailed analysis of Government skill training policies will be done in subsequent section but
overall skill ecosystem for automobile sector is ill-prepared for transition towards EV. For
instance out of the total 15,020 ITI’s, 78% have at least one auto sector related course but
there is only one trade specific to Electric vehicle i.e. “Mechanic Electric Vehicle” which is
currently taught at 163 ITIs (1.1% of the total ITI’s in country) with a seating capacity of
only 4,584 students (0.3% of the total seating capacity in the country)13. Short term training
programmes like PMKVY and NAPS are training workers for auto sector but EV related
trainings are only integrated in handful of these courses. Automotive Skill Development
Council (ASDC) has recently launched 9 additional courses out of total 118 courses related to
Electric Vehicles.
Due to EV transition of auto sector, skill development landscape has completely transformed
in SSCs. Earlier skill development trainings in automotive sector were primarily done by
Automotive Skill Development Council (ASDC). Now due to the transition towards EV,
focused trainings related to EV charging station are being conducted by Power skill sector
council (PSSC) and for EV components & technology such as Chip programming, battery
manufacturing, Motor designing is being conducted by Electronics Skill Sector Council of
12
17.5% of workforce at OEMs work in Engine, exhaust and Fuel system assembly line and at ACM level these
numbers would be at least 4 times the numbers in OEMs as manufacturing of Engine requires most number of
components.
13
All India Council for Technical Education, Government of India. (2024). AICTE dashboard.
https://app.powerbi.com/view?
r=eyJrIjoiZmJkZmMwNDYtNzJjYy00N2FlLThjMjAtZGFlN2Q1ODYyOTczIiwidCI6ImVkYjFiNjA2LWJlMz
YtNDFlZi04ODRhLTJiMGMxNjY2OGU4NiJ9
7
India (ESSI). Other trainings for assembly of vehicles, manufacturing, servicing, sale, and
repair of vehicles etc. are conducted by ASDC.
EV courses are evolving but pace of transition is faster than pace at which skill ecosystem is
being created to absorb the effects of the transition. Field survey denoted that over 80% of
workers at ACMs are trained through on-the-job training informally and there is huge scope
of improvement for workers to get formally vocationally trained during transition of auto
sector towards EV.
E. Overall Observations
There are 30.7 million workers in auto sector and approximately 25% of workers are
informal in auto industry and level of education of majority of these workers is ITI
and graduate level.
Due to auto sector transition 66 job roles would get obsolete, 82 would require
reskilling, 93 would be new job opportunities and 323 job roles would witness no
change.
Number of Job Roles under EV would increase rather than decrease due to auto sector
transition. Sector may witness high degree of automation and loss of Low skilled jobs
and number of workers required to make an ICE would be less than EV but there
would be plenty of new job opportunities as well.
Approximately 1 million manufacturing jobs would be impacted with transition of
auto sector.
Skilling initiatives are disjointed in the sector and majority of auto industry function
through the practice of on-the-job training.
The auto sector is rapidly evolving and so is the need for upgrading skills and reskilling
initiative according to EV ecosystem. However, the existing institutional setup does not
complement the need for the creation of skilled manpower for EV. Investments in skilling
and reskilling programmes for the workforce, both by the government and the industries, will
be essential to help workers adapt to new roles within emerging EV sectors, and make them
more adaptable to the changing job market. Besides, skilling will be essential to develop a
future-ready workforce, as the skills required for jobs transition will in many ways be
different from those in the existing enterprises.
Presently, India's educational framework is not fully prepared to cater to the demand for EV-
specific skills. Educational institutions and training centers need to adapt their course
structures to impart the requisite knowledge and practical experience for these specialized
positions. Effectively addressing this skills gap requires a collaborative effort involving
educational institutions, automobile manufacturers, and governmental bodies. Through such
collaboration, an atmosphere conducive to innovation and experimentation can be cultivated,
ensuring that India's automotive industry remains at the forefront of EV technology.
